Haze 40
Reviewed by:
guitargeant, on july 19, 2010 3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Price paid: $ 475

Purchased from: Grapevine, TX

Features: Marshall's modern breakout with old school tone and presence! This box of rock ain't no MG or Valvestate! It is the real deal Marshall all valve screamin' like a demon Marshall we all know and love! This amp is equipped with 2 channels that cascade in gain stages (via boost button) similar to my JCM 2000 DSL. Comes with a pedal for switching channels and turning effects on and off, however there is and upgrade pedal for $69 that will control all of the switching on the panel. It is also equipped with an emulated line out for recording, 16 ohm out for stock 66w Celestion Marquee, 8 ohm out for your cab of choice, and an effects loop. On the business end there is clean channel with one volume knob (that's it! what else you need?) a boost and a bright button.The bright button serves both channels. Overdrive with gain and volume knobs and a boost and channel Switch button. The full tone stack includes presence. The all digi effect section has a reverb knob, effect depth knob and an adjust knob. The effects section is true bypass when disengaged. The one thing I don't like about the built in effects is when you engage it there is a loss of tone, tonesucker circuit is what I call it! It comes with delay, chorus and vibe. I tend to not use this section and use my pedal board instead, accept when I am too lazy to set everything up haha! AS FOR THE POOWWEERR, it is very loud, loud enough to piss the wife off loud, but still neighbor friendly! Hey it is a 112 40w all tube Marshall it's gonna scream but will not sterilize the wild life within a 100 yard radius like my 100 watter! Perfect for the club gig, any outdoor venue or large hall I would mic into a PA though! This gets a 7 because the tonesucker circuit is good, it may not bother most but being the tone junkie it bothers me. So I just use the amp without this feature! // 7

Sound: Hmmm, the flavor this amp has to offer is uber warm! This is one of the warmest amps I've ever played through. The first thing I played when I was trying it out was Andy Timmons "Super 70's" and this amp nailed it! Plug and play! The clean channel is like DSL clean but warmer with tons of headroom, hit the boost button and this thing turns into a Bluesbreaker! Man I was going from Hendrix to SRV in this setting and any snarling blues lead in between LOVE IT, CRANK IT UP! The bright button is not suited for this channel though, too much icepick! The overdrive channel needs the bright button engaged in my opinion because of the warmness.Boost out this will nail harder blues/rock like ZZ top AC/DC, boost button in this baby lights up especially when you crank it! Like I said earlier it is warm like a Marshall JMP on steroids! Timmons has gotta try this one out haha! This amp does ok at lower volumes for practice as well. The gain can cover up to 80's metal but will not crossover to the modern metal scene without help, any metal pedal or even a good boost will push it over though. Cutting through the mix just turn up the presence. I love the tone, however I have to rate the total package though the effects onboard sound fine, they just suck tone so I will give the total package a 7 but minus the effects a 10! Why did they even put that thing on there? // 7

Reliability & Durability: Haven't had this for a week yet but my other Marshall has been in my posession for 2 years with no worries. I've cranked both amps to the maximum ( you gotta do it at least once, you haven't until then!) until the actual studs in my walls are rattling and nothing broke or quit or anything like that! All still great! Marhall's rule, don't get me wrong an Mesa or a Fender silverface or blackface kills also! // 9

Overall Impression: I play mostly original blues/ jazz/ rock but also cover Metallica to Maiden, SRV to Hendix and anything in between really! This amp really covers my mid wattage needs very well, sounds Killer on my 212 and mics up well. For those of you who are wanting Marshall performance with a modern twist give this a shot! Five words of advice though, you gotta crank it up, to fully experience what this amp has to offer! It will chew up and spit out any Line 6, just don't use the effects thingy. I would replace if it were stolen and I would sell a Line 6 to the pawn shop to get one! // 8

Haze 40
Reviewed by:
ChargeUSMC, on march 05, 2014 2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Price paid: $ 400

Purchased from: Interweb

Features: 40-watt, 1 x 12" speaker, all-tube, combo amp. If you want to hear about "valves" instead of "tubes" in a Marshall, I recommend ultimate-guitar.uk instead.

2-channel with a 3-way EQ (L, M, H) plus Presence. Clean channel has volume knob; overdrive channel has volume and gain knobs. Each channel has Boost switch. Clean channel has Bright switch. Three effects (vibe, delay, chorus) with volume and depth knobs (each channel remembers last effect setting). Reverb knob. It has 20% of the features of a solid-state digital modelling amp with 100% of the features of a tube amp. Comes with a 2-button footswitch (channel and effect on/off); optional 4-button footswitch sold separately (channel, OD boost, effect, reverb). The 4-button switch is a waste of money, in my opinion; you'll still need to use your hands to select clean boost, bright, and switch effects. Not a hit on the amp; let's wait for Marshall to come out with a better control pedal! Plenty of headroom in the clean channel. // 9

Sound: This amp is excellent for '60s-'70s rock, and sounds nice and warm with singles and buckers. The bright switch gives a clear, crisp sound that is a good substitute for an electric-acoustic. I use it with my piezo-powered electric, and it's similar to my acoustic plugged right into the PA system. The OD will get you to the limits of '70s rock, but comes a bit short of '80s distortion. No problem using a distortion and/or fuzz pedal to get the legit metal sounds. There is a slight digital delay when switching channels or engaging effects. That's the price of having a microchip working with the tubes. // 8

Reliability & Durability: If you respect the tubes, they'll respect you. The wood and tolex are solid, and the knobs seem well-secured. I've had the amp for about 8 months with light gigging and haven't had any nasty surprises yet. I don't bring a backup (spent all my money on the amp, so none left over for a backup). There are some well-placed cooling slots on the top that offer a nice view of the glowing tubes inside. How thoughtful... I've had cables plugged into most of the jacks, and have made them suffer the standard inadvertent kicking. No loose jacks yet. // 9

Overall Impression: It's a nice looking amp with a simplistic design. There's always something comforting about turning around and seeing a cursive "Marshall" stand out in the stage lights. Knowing what I know now, I do not regret my decision to get this amp. If the DSL40 was about $100 cheaper, I would have gone with that instead; however, the Haze's internal effects can potentially save a few hundred bucks on additional pedals. Don't shy away from this amp just because it's a combo, or has a 0. 10 second delay on the channel/effect switching. Choose it based on the tone; if you really need metal tone, get a Mesa Boogie; if you really need country tone, get a Fender. For anything else, I dare you to find better tone in this price range, especially with built-in effects. But seriously, don't drop the money on the 4-button footswitch unless you get a great deal, or you get the amp used without the 2-button switch (since the 4-button switch is just $20 more when purchased separately). // 8

Haze 40
Reviewed by:
willumhayden, on february 12, 2015 2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Price paid: € 599

Features: Dual channel 40 watts tube combo with digital effects (chorus, delay, tremolo). Volume, master, Treble, middle, bass and presence. Bright switch on the clean channel. Boost function on both channels. Effects loop and possibility for external cab. It has a 12" Celestion G12-66 Marquee on board and a 2 way footswitch. 4-way footswitch optional (boost, reverb, channel, effects). Weighs about 42 lbs which means it is not too heavy to carry around. The size is okay to carry it in both arms. It has all features you need in a tube amp... and more (effects). // 10

Sound: I play styles like p-funk, blues, crossover, rock etc. It does a very well job on all of these. The clean channel is very nice although I hardly use it. I use the drive channel. It has quite little sustain to it so I use effects like Tubescreamer and distortion to pump it up a bit. They sound perfect on the drive channel but not on the clean channel. I don't really care for the on board effect except fot the reverb. They are okay though in a live setting. I swapped the speaker for a Celestion Vintage 30 which makes a minor difference (smoother). The stock speaker is okay either and has a little more bite to it. // 9

Reliability & Durability: The effects are okay but don't work smooth on the footswitch (delay and "pops"). I don't use them so I don't really bother, but it is not 10 points worthy. Tollex is nice. Grillcloth is nice. Knobs feel good enough although it's not Vox feel. The rest of the amp does it's job. It is as reliable al a tube amp can be I guess. The tubes haven't given me any problems so far. The amp in totality hasn't given me any trouble in the 2 years I use it. I mainly use it on live shows. It's pretty loud at home. // 8

Overall Impression: Nice little tube amp. Carriable, nice looks. Plenty volume on small stage, but you can mic it on bigger stages. Okay for anything but high gain sounds without pedals. It's a bit of the reincarnation of the first edition of the JCM800 4010 I used to own. It is better than the second edition 4010. Advantage of this amp is the dual channel possibility. If it was stolen I would buy it again. Even if I could find a first edition JCM 800 4010 I would chose this one over it (versatility and better looks). // 9

@ nitroguitarist Nothing wrong with valvestates I've experienced both and when it comes to pure presence and overall tonal depth, all valve (tube) amps rule! More articulate and richer in texture at the same time! My tube amps will destroy any no tube amp everytime.... haven't lost a shoot out yet! What kinda live rig you run?

personally i dont get the kind of money marshall is charing for an amp made in india? does anyone even know who elvis is there? i know about cheap labor and all, but i would take a korean blackstar anyday

jtbull wrote:
personally i dont get the kind of money marshall is charing for an amp made in india? does anyone even know who elvis is there? i know about cheap labor and all, but i would take a korean blackstar anyday

Typical west-world arrogance. I'm from India and I can assure you that the country has a VERY active music circuit in spite the fact that rock music here isn't as mainstream it is in the USA. We know our heroes and we know our music as much you guys do. So yeah, I'm guessing we DO know who Elvis is. But I can assure you that MOST of you have no idea who Ravi Shankar is. FYI he's an INDIAN who played at the 69 Woodstock.

I've had a haze 40 since they were released. No issues with reliability. I don't think you can really compare an all tube amp to a marshall valvestate, as they're both completely diff animals (i had a valvestate and sold it). This is a good little amp with surprising power and headroom, especially on the clean channel. The dirty channel is great, but unless you're putting a heavy pedal in front of it, its only suited for classic rock or blues. But for those styles of music, this little amp rocks, and is solidly built - regardless of misconceptions some may have on where its built. I've had Zero issues with it.

rohitfenderlove wrote:
jtbull wrote:
personally i dont get the kind of money marshall is charing for an amp made in india? does anyone even know who elvis is there? i know about cheap labor and all, but i would take a korean blackstar anyday
Typical west-world arrogance. I'm from India and I can assure you that the country has a VERY active music circuit in spite the fact that rock music here isn't as mainstream it is in the USA. We know our heroes and we know our music as much you guys do. So yeah, I'm guessing we DO know who Elvis is. But I can assure you that MOST of you have no idea who Ravi Shankar is. FYI he's an INDIAN who played at the 69 Woodstock.

Ravi Shankar also worked quite a bit with the Beatles playing sitar in there music, Across the Universe is a good example.
I have the head/cab version of this amp it was made in India as well and its a solid piece of equipment. Though I have heard the combo amps suffer from rattling often.

Great amp with a very distinctive sound, however it suffers reliability issies, the digital effects caused a loud hiss and it hisses ever since. The hiss is now loud enough to be disturbing - even without digital effects switched off. Guess I'll have to trade it for another amp, I highly doubt I will find such a good sounding amp for the amount of money I have paid (499 euros).

Have had this amp for two years. No problems so far with reliability or inherent defects. I like the sound of the amp, it is warm, but can cut. I really love how it sounds with my strat, can get some beautiful blues tone, and it is versatile, it works great for classic rock gigging, which is primarily what I need it for. My only complaint is that I have the 4 button footswitch, and the Boost button on the footswitch only boosts the overdrive channel, but not the normal (clean)channel. This is a major concern for me, as my gigging repertoire is diverse. Overall I am very happy with this amp...and no more lugging stacks around!

jtbull wrote:
personally i dont get the kind of money marshall is charing for an amp made in india? does anyone even know who elvis is there? i know about cheap labor and all, but i would take a korean blackstar anyday
I guess you are suffering for having almost 90% of all your goods made in China..

I have two DSL40's, had them for roughly 1.5 years. Both started hissing badly in the hi-gain channels. Tried different guitars and cables, very bad, can't use the channel now. Any ideas what causes this? A fix?